The Cousins
by TallySaran
Summary: When Tony receives a call from an Aunt he hasn't spoken to in years there must be something going on. But when she asks Tony to look after her children as her dying wish he finds out his life is going to change forever! If you can think of a better title please let me know!
1. Chapter 1

A/N Hiya this is my first fanfic so please read and review, follow and favourite! Constructive criticism is appreciated! Hope you enjoy. Usual disclaimers apply!

Scrunching up a paper ball to throw at McGee, Tony did not think he had ever been so bored in his life. There had been no new cases in over a week and they had already looked through every single cold case that had even a slight chance of being solved. Gibbs had spent most of the week striding round the bullpen drinking coffee whilst Abby had been cleaning and renovating her machines, polishing, scrubbing and pampering them but achieving next to no work. McGee, still being fairly green had actually spent the week working hard on case files, somehow he still believed that where thousands of other agents had failed, he and his computer skills could succeed. It was kinda cute really. Kate had began the week with good intentions but even her good two shoes had worn out and she was currently spinning her chair round aimlessly.

Suddenly, a phone rang and all of their heads shot up, subconsciously hoping that something might have happened that allowed them to get out. Throwing the paper ball at McGee, Tony picked up his ringing phone.

"Hello, Tony DiNozzo crime solving extraordinaire speaking" Tony said cheerfully, grinning at the bemused but disapproving expression on Kate's face.

"Tony?" The voice on the phone asked quietly, "it's your aunt, aunt Anna" she finished, speaking with a British accent.

"Oh Anna, er hi!" Tony said, ignoring Kate's eyeroll, she probably thought it was another girl that he had forgotten to call back, "how are you?".

He hadn't spoken to his aunt since, well ages. They had been close when Tony was younger, her being only seven or eight years older than him. However after his mother had died, the Paddington family had pretty much tied up all contact with the DiNozzos, blaming seniors drinking and emotional neglect for sending her to her untimely death. He had kept in some contact with his Aunt Anna though, enough to send a card at Christmas and on Birthdays. He knew that she had married and had some kids, and the gone through a nasty divorce a few years later, but he honestly had no idea what would make her call.

"Not too good Tones, not too good" Anna replied wearily, using the childhood nickname he had t heard for years. "I'm in the states, me and the kids. Can you come and see us? It's quite important".

"Yeah, of course" Tony replied concernedly, pulling out a pen and pad of paper, "where shall I meet you?"

"The grande plaza hotel" she replied as Tony scrawled down the rest of the address , "shall we say 7 o'clock?".

"Er yeah sounds good?" Tony replied, slightly shellshocked, what was going on! "See you then" he finished before putting down the phone.

Unable to help herself Kate had to ask questions. "Who was that?" She asked with a sly grin, "another girl that you forgot?", she chuckled as Tony raised his eyebrows.

"No Kate" Tony replied happily with a smug smile at being able to prove her wrong. "Just a family thing." Tony smiled at Kate's confusion but could not help but feel just as confused inside.

******

******

The day had seemed to go on for longer than Tony could ever have imagined. Finally though it was 7 o'clock and Tony had arrived at the hotel and was currently standing outside the room ready to knock.

He couldn't help but take a moment to wonder what Anna must look like now, in her youth she had been unusual but stunning with long red hair and blue eyes, her fair skin burning at a touch and freckles sprinkled across her nose. Luckily for her the weather in England had never been too much of a problem on the sunburn front! However tony expected that the stresses of a tricky divorce and raising children as a single mother had taken it's toll and he truly had no idea what the woman opening the door was going to look or be like. Though he would never admit it he was nervous, what was all this even about?

He knocked on the door, not having any idea about how his life was going to change.

"Tony!" said the woman opening the door smiling and opening her arms to embrace him.

"Anna?" Tony asked carefully as he returned the embrace. This did not look the Anna he knew. This woman was pale and gaunt and during the hug he felt like his arms could go twice round her, he placed his arms around her carefully, she felt like she could snap at any moment. There was no flowing red hair only a flowery bandana. The only thing that reassured Tony that this was his aunt was the smile on her face; she had a magnetic smile, the smile that Tony had inherited, the Paddington smile that could be flicked on suddenly and light up a whole room.

"Tony come in, we have lots to talk about" she said herding towards the sofa, still smiling.

"As you may guess Tony, I'm not well" she stated using her stick thin arms to point to her face and bandana. "Doctors have told me I have no more than a week and that I need to set my affairs in order."

Tony just sat in silence, trying to process what was going on and what did it have to do with him?

"Now my finance are all set, they are in a trust fund for the children, open when they turn 21." she said matter-of-factly, ignoring Tony's confusion, "The real problem is of who is going to look after the children until they turn 21. As you may know, there is no one left in my family and there is no way in hell that Ron is getting them." she stated angrily, referring to her ex-husband and the father of her children. Tony did not know much about Ron but did know that it would not be good for the children to live with him.

"er, so what are you saying" Tony asked cautiously, worried he knew what question was coming next.

"I was wondering" Anna began, her voice beginning to shake and tears blossoming in her eyes, "if there was any way you could," she faltered, her voice choking up, "if you could look after them".

Tony just stared, sure he had always imagined himself with kids, and there he was getting older and less likely to have children by the day. But still. Children he had never met. What if they didn't like him? What if he couldn't do it? What about his job? What if he let Anna down?

"They have an au pair, she can take them to school and things, and cook and clean, they just need a guardian." Anna continued, desperation creeping into her voice, "there just no where else for them to go, I can buy you all a house, there's plenty of money" Anna pleaded, tears streaming down her face. "But of course" she added, wiping away her tears and looking at Tony, " I know it's a long shot, you have your own life, you don't have to" she finished, smiling at Tony and making him feel like he really did have a choice. Inside though, Tony's mind was already made up. He was going to look after these kids.

Tony was silent for a moment before cupping his hand under his hand under Anna's chin and wiping away her tears. "Of course I will" Tony stuttered, giving a shy half smile, "they'll be safe with me."

Anna smiled through the tears as Tony smiled back at her.

*****

*****

Tony spent the evening getting to know the children and their au pair. Although the evening was tinged with sadness and a cloud hung over them, all the family kept smiling and got along with Tony like a house on fire. Despite the sadness Tony found himself being dragged into having the most fun he had had in ages.

At nine, Nathan Christopher Paddington was the only child who could really grasp what was really happening and as a result took the longest to warm to Tony, knowing that Tony's arrival could mean that his mothers goodbye was near. Anna had explained to the children that they were going to live with cousin Tony when mummy went to heaven. However as soon as Tony began to chat with him about cars, a friendship began with Tony recounting stories of his past cars and their stories and when Tony mentioned that he was trying to rebuild an old car Nathan's blue eyes lit up and he wouldn't leave Tony's side all evening.

The next oldest was six year old Elliot, Elliot Freddie Paddington wasn't quite aware of what Tony was here for but was able to grasp that his mothers was ill and was hesitant to leave her side, trying to help her in everywhere by fetching her her special cup and offering her food every five minutes. Despite his reluctance to leave his mothers side, he happily told the room that Tony was cool and that they were going to be friends.

The youngest of the family was Carly. Carly Grace Paddington was the princess of the family, parading round in her fairy dress, her three year old self completely unaware of what was going on. She warmed to Tony straight away, utterly fascinated by Tony's funny American accent. She sat on his knee for the whole evening, occasionally wandering over to give her mother a hug. She did seem to have some sense of her mothers illness being very careful when she climbed on her to give her a careful hug despite the protests of a very protective Elliot that she would hurt her.

Only Carly had inherited the bright copper red hair of her mother with they two boys sporting sandy blonde hair. All the children had inherited their mothers freckles and most importantly the bright Paddington smile (even if Elliot's was currently a few teeth short!).

The final member of the family was Natalia Carlotta Garcia, their Spanish au pair. Natalia was practically a model, tall and slim with long and sleek dark brown hair, caramel skin and big dark brown eyes. She was also one of the funniest people Tony had ever met, the kids obviously adored her and she spoke in a mix of garbled Spanish and English which thankfully Tony and apparently the children could understand. She had been with the family for two years through all the treatment and coming to America. Tony sincerely hoped that Talia would help smooth the transition for the children, from her stories it certainly sounded like she wasn't fazed by much!

As the evening drew to a close Tony, much to the children's protests, and after discussing the next steps with Anna and promising to come back tomorrow, had to leave the family that was soon to be his own.

Walking out of the hotel he realised that his life was never going to be the same again!


	2. Chapter 2

Hey all, I'm sorry it's been a long time but A levels and stuff kinda got in the way, however I'm back! This chapter is a bit bitty and I'm not hugely happy but it is here :) I hope you enjoy it, not sure where this is going but if you have an idea drop me a PM or review! Thanks in advance for reading and doubly thanks if you review, they make writing another chapter 100 times easier.

As Tony stepped out of the hotel, at past one in the morning, he started to once again doubt himself. How could he do this? Look after three children and stay on top of his job? Even with Talia's help he didn't have a clue how his life was going to work. He didn't even know where they were all going to sleep. After pacing up and down outside the hotel what seemed like a thousand times, Tony pulled out his cell phone and dialed the only number he could think to call.

"Gibbs", a gruff voice answered on the second ring. Tony had known he would be awake despite the unearthly hour, probably working on his boat.

"Hey boss, it's Tony" Tony replied, unsure on how best to drop the bombshell.

"Yeah?" Gibbs responded shortly, "we got a case?"

"Well no..."

"Then why the hell are you calling me at half one in the morning DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, his voice rising in annoyance.

"Well it's just that..." Tony stuttered nervously, gulping an deep breath, "my dying aunt wants me to look after her three children and I already said yes and now I'm not sure if I can and I'm not sure what to do next." Tony stated without any pauses.

At first there was momentary silence from the end of the phone before Gibbs' slightly surprised voice reemerged.

"I'll meet you at your apartment. Give me twenty minutes tops." Gibbs stated matter of factly, "and Tony" he added after a moments hesitation, "I'm proud of you".

Tony could only smile as he heard the phone being hung up.

Tony got back to his apartment in record time, not wanting Gibbs to be standing outside. He didn't really need to tidy up (he was never home anyway) so he sat on the sofa until about five minutes later when he heard the recognisable rap on the door.

Tony knew that Gibbs would be helpful but in all honesty he had underestimated the man. In just an hour Gibbs had made Tony so much less nervous. He had agreed that Tony would not work past 7pm unless there was an emergency, and that sometimes he may have to leave early if Talia was not available. As regards to telling the team, Gibbs had maintained that it was Tony's decision and that he would keep the secret until Tony was ready to reveal it.

The pair had discussed at length where the new family members would all sleep; Tony's apartment only had two bedrooms. They came to the conclusion that as a temporary measure, Nathan and Elliott would share one room and Carly and Talia would take the other. Tony in the mean time would have to take the sofa in the lounge. This would of course have to change and Tony would have to look for a real house or at least a bigger condo.

The words that made Tony the most surprised though were completely and utterly unexpected. Suddenly, absolutely out of the blue. Gibbs offered up some of Kelly's old stuff for Carly. Tony didn't even think that Gibbs knew that he knew about Kelly. When Tony began to piece together a reply, a big enough thank you, Gibbs just smiled and said "don't mention it" in a way that closed the topic.

At work the next day, Tony tried to act like nothing had ever happened. Like his life hadn't been turned completely upside down. Gibbs of course was as good as his work and didn't utter a peep about last night and therefore the day went ahead just like any other.

Letting out a yawn and stretching in his chair Tony smiled widely at the smug looking Kate opposite him.

"Good night Tony?" Kate asked sarcastically, expecting some tale of Tony's conquest of some leggy blonde.

"You have no idea Kate" Tony replied with a grin, "you have no idea".

Tony had spent most of the morning mulling over whether he should tell his team the full story, but eventually had decided that it could wait. He feared that Kate and McGee would put him down and tell him he couldn't do it. Abby and Ducky he felt would support him whatever but neither were the best secret keepers and he didn't want him and his new family to become the new scuttlebutt. Therefore, after careful evaluation, Tony decided that for the time being, only him and Gibbs would know.

The week passed all too quickly. Tony spent almost every free hour at Anna's hotel, spending time with the children and getting to know them better. Tony loved the children and couldn't wait until he could leave work and head over to spend time with them but there was always a shadow hanging over the room, a shadow created by the fact that everyone in the room, even copper-curled Carly, knew that their days as a family were numbered, that the clock was ticking on Anna's life, and the life the children led.

Anna was very specific about what was to happen after her death. She had everything planned, from the funeral and her will to what schools and clubs the children could join. This of course made life much easier for Tony, but Tony dreaded to think that Anna must have had to sit down in her room and make the preparations for what would happen to her and the children she treasured above everything after she was gone. To make plans to make your child happy yet knowing you would never see them enjoy it and grow up appeared to be the cruellest thing in the world.

But until that moment Anna simply wanted that her children learnt to love the man that would look after them when she could no longer.

Elliott and Carly loved Tony from the moment he was introduced, as soon as they heard the knock on the hotel door they would jump up to run and greet him. They would sit for hours and listen while Tony regaled stories from NCIS and his college days. Elliott was interested more in books that sports, Tony knew that he and McGee would get on like a house on fire when they were introduced. Particularly Elliott loved maths, the six year old would turn over problems that made even Tony's brain tie itself in knots. Carly enjoyed pretty much everything, some days she would have a dance routine, sometimes a song to perform, but what made Tony's heart swell inside were the pictures. Pictures of a family, with Tony and Anna as giant figures in the middle, an even taller Talia on the side and three gorgeous, if often slightly unusually coloured, children holding onto their hands, written across the top of the pages, in spidery three year old scrawl, was the title of the work, the title that made Tony want to laugh, smile and cry all at the same time: My Family.

Nathan by far took the longest to warm to Tony. As the oldest he had the biggest grasp of his mothers situation and realised that Tony's arrival meant his mothers departure was imminent. He also saw himself as the man of the family, and took it upon himself to make sure that Tony was as good as Anna said before he could let him in. Despite his initial hesitance, as the week progressed, as did Nathan and Tonys relationship, the nine year old being interested in anything involved running around, Tony endeavoured to take him over to the park to play sports, if not only to get him out of the cramped hotel room. As it turned out, Nathan was an incredible soccer player. The ball appeared to be glued to his foot as he dribbled and he could propel the ball in any direction he chose with a simple tap. When Tony first saw his skills, his jaw dropped, Tony had thought he wasn't too bad at soccer, but this kid, this kid was incredible! More than that though, as Nathan dribbled and kicked his way through the park, his face lit up in a way Tony had never seen, he appeared to have forgotten all his troubles and focused everything into controlling the round ball attached to his foot. That was the moment that Tony truly realised; he could do this.


End file.
